Multicultural communications may seem difficult at first—differences in languages, backgrounds, customs and the like all seem a challenge. By learning more about our different cultures, it becomes easier to interact. We are dedicating the April issue of E-Buzz to this cause.

In this spirit, we invite you to test your knowledge of different cultures found right here in the U.S. The answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.

1. If you have feelings for someone, what would be the point in obtaining a “shadchan”?

1. It is an amulet of gold that will bring you good luck
2. It is a matchmaker who will arrange a meeting with that person
3. It is a new haircut that will make you look more attractive
4. It is a group of musicians you can serenade your sweetheart with

2. What time of the year would you celebrate Paczki Day?

1. At the beginning of the Summer Solstice
2. On January 1
3. The day after Halloween
4. Held just before Lent, it’s like Carnival or Mardi Gras

3. You are invited to an “Edin Toa.” What will be taking place?

1. A child’s first birthday party
2. A girl’s introduction into society
3. The naming of a child
4. A boy child’s first haircut

4. If someone is preparing a Corona what is he or she doing?

1. Preparing to celebrate the Day of the Child
2. Preparing a wreath to decorate graves for el Dia de los Muertos
3. Preparing the fireworks for Día de la Constitución
4. Preparing a traditional dish for Cinco de Mayo

5. At the dinner after a traditional Russian wedding, the bride was robbed of her ______, which had to be redeemed with money by the best man.

1. Wedding garter
2. Shoe
3. Wedding cake topper
4. Groom’s gift

6. If a woman is receiving Mehendi what is happening?

1. Her hands and feet are being decorated with henna
2. She is being given a ceremonial bath prior to marriage
3. She is receiving religious study
4. Her bridal attire is being presented by her female relatives

7. If an Austrian exclaims “Gross Gott!”, he is telling you:

1. Greetings!
2. Watch out!
3. Help!
4. Stop now!

8. In the Welsh culture, if someone asks you for Y Drych, what is he or she asking for?

1. A bowl of traditional meat stew
2. The Island, a famous heroic novel
3. Your family coat of arms
4. The Mirror, the oldest newspaper of its kind

9. The dandiya raas and the garba are two ______ common at Navratri, the Festival of Nine Nights.

1. Costumes
2. Traditional dishes
3. Dances
4. Texts read by the master of ceremonies

10. Although Puerto Rico’s original language, Taíno, is no longer spoken, what Taíno-derived word is still used in Spanish and English?

1. Corona, meaning crown
2. Ley, meaning law
3. Canoa, meaning canoe
4. Caliente, meaning hot

Translation industry leader incorporates new thought leader into current staff

AUSTIN, TX – April 2, 2007 – McElroy Translation, an Austin-based leader in legal, technical, medical and business translation and software and Web site localization, today announced that it has named Bob Donaldson as its vice president for strategy.

Donaldson, a proven technology executive, has deep experience starting technical business units and attracting and mentoring leading-edge technical talent. He brings over 25 years of pragmatic, problem-solving leadership and creative technology application experience to his new role. His initial focus will be on strategic alignment of technology initiatives to better serve the translation community and to streamline the processes that deliver language and localization services to McElroy clients.

Donaldson comes to McElroy from Carson Strategy Group, where he served as Independent IT Strategy Consultant. He also served at Sydcor as Director of Systems Strategy.

Donaldson holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Charles University in Prague, Czechoslovakia in Graduate Studies of Slavic Languages. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government and minors in History, Mathematics, Russian and German from the University of Maryland and is an honors graduate of Russian from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA.

Joining the McElroy team is a “coming home,” as he worked briefly as a freelance Russian translator for McElroy in the late 70’s before embarking on a more technically-focused career path.

I saw in interesting segment, "Tactical Language Training" on a program I had recorded about Wired Nextfest 2006 (sponsored by GE). Made me curious enough to look it up online. If I understood what I was reading, this language learning tool is being developed through the Center for Advanced Research in Technology for Education (CARTE) with some funding from the military. While this version has been developed with and for the military, you can immediately see where it could have business applications.

From the Tactical Iraqi website you can look at a video. Or there is a basic outline of the program on a different website, and screenshots from a demo. Scroll down a few pages to see the demo. It’s particularly intriguing because you learn important aspects of nonverbal language, e.g., what different gestures mean, and what they actually look like through the avatars. These elements of culture and communication are as important as spoken language, but and this could be a powerfully effective way to learn them.

By having the training in the form of an interactive game, where you speak into a microphone and control the gestures of your avatar. The response from who you are talking to varies depending upon what you do. You sure don’t get that from a language CD or book. Also, it appears the behavior of those you encounter can be set to offer a variety of challenges at different levels of difficulty. Can’t you just imagine how useful this would be to prepare someone for a business trip, or even how it could be adapted for school language courses.

If you haven’t gotten enough, there is a news item on the Information Sciences Institute East’s website about Tactical Language Training that explains this learning tool/game really well. 

Austin, Texas, September 19, 2006 – McElroy Translation, a provider of localization and translation services, is used as a case study to illustrate the importance of organizational culture in Dr. Harold Kerzner’s latest book, Project Management Best Practices: Achieving Global Excellence, published in July. Project management is shown to be an integral component of strategic best practices for continuous improvement.

Dr. Kerzner begins his introduction to the chapter on culture with “Perhaps the most significant characteristic of companies that are excellent in project management is their culture.” We agree with his assessment that a successful company culture is designed to adapt quickly to a dynamic environment.

According to Shelly Priebe, General Manager at McElroy, “McElroy's company culture is unique in several ways. (1) We keep good people. (2) Project management as a company culture is emphasized to eliminate information silos. (3) ‘Setting the Industry Standard in Customer Satisfaction’ is not marketing hype. It is a vision that our employees own and vest themselves in every day. All of these elements inextricably entwine to design a cultural fingerprint that is uniquely ‘McElroy.’ Entrepreneurial energy and process improvement ideas surge from the ground up to continually improve our customer's experience.”